I'm glad you just let it go. Quilting definitely allows different strokes for different folks, so best to ignore the quilt police.
Personally, I prefer doing LA quilting to home machine quilting (I tend to do large quilts, don't like fighting all the fabric layers, and was lucky to be able to afford to buy one after years of renting) and I prefer using pantographs to computerized quilting (feels more handmade to me).
That being said, I have taken several quilt classes from award winning teachers that sew large quilts on home machines (Diane Gaudynski and Susan Rasmussen) and enjoyed them immensely. Some of their tips also carry over to LA use. I have also seen computerized quilts that are lovely. I also admire handquilting, but I also tried that and my hands don't like it.